


gossip

by megalopunny



Series: art kids [5]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-27 12:17:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21392023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megalopunny/pseuds/megalopunny
Summary: [art kids high school au]She’s exhausted suddenly, out of breath, time stretches and slows, a bell rings, faceless people walk by in crowds. She should be somewhere, but she can’t move. She can’t even remember what class she has next.this work contains descriptions of a panic attack.
Relationships: Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough
Series: art kids [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/977451
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	gossip

_You know that girl that Zack’s dating? _

_She’s a year behind, did you know? _

_She flunked? _

_No, I think she was sick or something. _

Do they know how easy it is to hear them? 

_She’s really weird. _

_Maybe it affected her brain!_

Do they even care that she can hear? 

_I think she’s pretty. _

_No way. _

_Besides, didn’t you know? She’s a total lesbian. _

_What? _

_Ew! _

She liked it better when no one noticed her at all. 

_Back in middle school, there was this girl, Carrie, and they went to the summer carnival together, like, as friends. Anyway, Aerith tried to make out with her on the ferris wheel. Like, she was all up on Carrie’s lap, it was super gross. _

Her name was Kyrie. They can’t even get that right. 

_Gross! _

_Wait, I remember her. What happened to Carrie? _

_Her parents made her move away! _

_I’d move away, too, if everyone thought I was a lesbo. _

_Her moms are dykes, too, so it’s no surprise she-_

Aerith stands with a clatter of cups and lunch trays, threatening to rip her seat from where it’s bolted to the floor. Someone shouts at her for spilling their drink, but Aerith is already out the door of the lunchroom, out into the hall. Freshmen and sophomores have a different lunch period than the juniors and seniors. She knows Zack is still in class somewhere, but as she tears through the halls, she only feels worse. How stupid she’ll look, how pathetic, coming to cry to her boyfriend, how much more everyone will talk when they see her standing outside the door to his class. He can’t fix anything. He can’t make them stop. He can’t make them care. 

_Stupid, you stupid bitch, you want everyone to know what you are? _

That one is Tseng. That one is just a memory. Still, her breath catches in her chest, cold, and she has to sit, has to gather her thoughts, has to sit on the hallway’s tiny window ledge and breathe, breathe. She’s exhausted suddenly, out of breath, time stretches and slows, a bell rings, faceless people walk by in crowds. She should be somewhere, but she can’t move. She can’t even remember what class she has next. 

“Aerith?” 

Zack’s voice, she thinks, is so much like the rest of him. Childish, but tender. As soft as he is. Like magic, he found her, he’s with her, knelt in front of her and holding her hand because, like magic, he knows she needs it. 

The words tangle in her mouth, the silence only looking worse with each passing second, that only strangles her more, and, to say anything at all, she says, “I’m sorry.” it surprises herself with her own sincerity. She’s sorry, she’s sorry she’s like this, that she’s different and imperfect, that her differences and imperfections are only going to ruin him, the school’s golden boy. 

“it’s okay,” he says, soft, “you don’t have anything to be sorry for.” And whether it’s just Zack being polite and kind, like he is, just saying that, or whether he means it, knowing what her week has been like, Aerith doesn’t care just then. She lets herself have that relief, looping her arms around him and not letting go. It’s a long time before she speaks again. Another bell rings; they both ignore it. “I’m gonna get you to the nurse,” he tells her. “You look pretty pale.” 

She lets him pull her up and doesn’t let go of his hand through the walk down the hallways. “Hey,” she says first, licks her lips, finds her courage. “Did anyone tell you about Kyrie?” 

“You mean Carrie?” 

“No,” she says, and laughs despite herself. “Kyrie.” 

“I heard a little,” Zack says, nonchalant, light, “but I don’t care about that. Whatever happened, or if it’s true or not. I mean, all I really care about is if you want to be with me.” 

“I do,” she says, relieved beyond words, pressing against his side just to feel him there. He’s so much taller than her, taller than a lot of the other boys, and he’s probably only going to get bigger. She’s thankful. When he hugs her he could swallow her whole. When they hold hands, hers can disappear in his palm.


End file.
